Last verified 2026-09-15. Regulator: Tennessee Department of Agriculture. This page is not legal advice.
What must a cottage food label show in Tennessee?
A Tennessee cottage food label must show these 4 items:
- The name, home address, and telephone number of the producer
- The common or usual name of the homemade food item
- The ingredients of the homemade food item in descending order of predominance
- The statement: "This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."
What disclaimer must a Tennessee cottage food label have?
Yes. A Tennessee cottage food label must carry this statement, word for word:
This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.
Does Tennessee require a Nutrition Facts panel on cottage food?
No. Tennessee does not require a Nutrition Facts panel on cottage food. Federal rules also exempt most small producers, unless the label makes a nutrient or health claim. If you want to add one, the Nutrition Label Maker prints it in the FDA layout for free.
What foods can you sell under the Tennessee cottage food law?
Non-potentially hazardous homemade food items, including non-alcoholic beverages, produced and packaged at the producer's private residence. Meat and poultry products are excluded unless they fall within a narrow federal exemption. TDA says a July 1, 2025 amendment allows certain time/temperature controlled foods; the conditions for those foods are not confirmed.
Where can you sell cottage food in Tennessee?
Producer to consumer, in person or remotely, including by telephone or internet. Sales through an agent or a third-party vendor such as a retail shop or grocery store are also allowed. Delivery may be by the producer, an agent, a third-party vendor, or a third-party carrier. Federal law still governs interstate sales.
Do you need a permit to sell cottage food in Tennessee?
None. TDA does not issue permits or licenses and does not inspect products made under this law.
Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Tennessee?
None. The act text read for this page sets no sales cap.
What else should you know about the Tennessee rules?
Tennessee exempts homemade food from all state licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws when the conditions of the act are met. The four label items above go on a label on the package, on a label on a bulk container, on a placard at the point of sale for unpackaged items, or on the web page for items sold only online. For telephone or custom orders, the seller must tell the buyer that the item was produced at a private residence exempt from state licensing and inspection and may contain allergens, and must give the other label facts on request. The act preempts county and city bans on homemade food sales. Complaints about these products go to the Tennessee Department of Health, not TDA.
How accurate is this page?
The label items, the disclaimer wording, the sales channels, and the absence of a sales cap were read from the text of House Bill 813 (2021-2022) as introduced, on 2026-09-15. The enacted text, now codified at Tenn. Code Ann. section 53-1-118, sits on a LexisNexis site that curl cannot read, so the enacted wording was not confirmed against the bill. The agency facts were read from the TDA Tennessee Food Freedom Act page the same day. The July 1, 2025 amendment for time/temperature controlled foods was not read. Check the source before relying on this page.